If you go ask your dealer, be sure to talk to an actual mechanic. Sales people, for the most part, know less than the people buying the machines. We actually had to show our dealer how the reverse on the 300ex worked (and we just figured it out for ourselves).

The information on the Polaris AWD system is found in their brochures.

 

Go ask your dealer and if he tells you that the awd is full time, then I wouldn't buy anything from him because he doesn't know enough about his product. Read this message from a Hilliard engineer and maybe you can understand how the awd works. (originally posted by Snowride)

<SPAN class=gs_normal>I copied this from another forum. Maybe it will clear up some issues.

I wrote to Matt Cowen, the Engineering Product Manager at Hilliard Corporation and asked a few questions about the Hilliard Overrunning Clutch used in the Polaris ATV's.
</SPAN>Hilliard Corp.

First my questions, followed by the response from Hilliard with their permission to share the information:
1) I regularly engage the AWD clutch for 4-wheel engine braking by causing the rear wheels to slip in reverse, stopping, then putting the machine in forward before descending the hill. Will this harm the clutch at all?
2) When I perform the above maneuver the clutch remains engaged, even while powering forward, until I switch off the AWD engaging coil. Is this normal operation for the clutch?
3) Is there a way to engage the clutch prior to wheel-spin, allowing me on-demand AWD?
----
Mr. Anderson,
The condition that you are asking about above is called "wedging". What you are doing is locking the rolls in the reverse profile of the clutch (it is a bi-directional clutch set-up) and proceding in the forward direction thus not allowing the clutch to overrun (which is the normal condition). This in turn locks up the drive train and makes the system steer like a fully locked differential. This condition is
advantageous if going down a steep hill becuase it will only allow the front wheels to move as fast as the drive train. This will fully utilize the engine brake because when going downhill the weight distribution of the bike goes to the front end and that is where you want the majority of your traction.

This "wedging" will not hurt the front gearcase, but it could accelerate the wear of the the drive train components (such as the front prop shaft) because it does completely bind up the system and the bike
will be very difficult to steer. Because of the binding and additional steering effort, neither Hilliard nor Polaris will recommend doing this.

You can get the system out of the "wedging" condition without turning the power off to the AWD system, but it is very difficult and
not always repeatable. The only true, 100% way to release the clutch is to turn the power off and put the bike in reverse. This will release the pressure on the clutch and the springs inside the clutch will return
the rollers back to the neutral position.

To answer #3, there is no way to drive the front wheels at the same time as the rear wheels without the rear wheels slipping. The bike is geared to have a 20% speed difference from the back to the front.
This means that it takes the rear wheel to slip or spin 20% (1/5th of a rear tire revolution) before the front wheel to drive the system. This is necessary to give the bike a tight turning radius and to prevent the bike from automatically "wedging". If the front to rear ratio was 1:1, every time you turn the handle bars even slightly, the front wheels would act like they have a fully locked differential and it would take
you 30 feet to turn a 90 degree turn (like driving a new Kawasaki Prarie with the front gearcase locked). Becuase when you turn, all of the wheels on the bike are now moving at different speeds dictated by the ground speed, and the front clutch would not be able to overrun. With the 20% speed difference, the AWD can be on all the time and it will only be there when you need it. You won't get any of the side effects
of all the other systems that don't allow you to turn the 4wd on and off. Basically, having the front wheels driving the same speed as the rear wheels would be like driving a tank and would be hard on the arms
and not very fun.

I hope I have answered all of your questions and not confused you to much. Browse through the overrunning clutch section on the Hilliard web site for more info on how overrunning clutches work if you have any more questions. Have a good day.

Thanks,
Matt Cowen
Engineering Product Manager
Drive Train Products
Hilliard Corporation

phone: (607) 733-7121 ext. 376
fax: (607) 733-1045
Hilliard
***This document contains proprietary information and such information
may not be disclosed to others or used for any purpose without written permission
from The Hilliard Corporation.
Copyright 2002, The Hilliard Corporation,
All Rights Reserved.**

 

There is a switch in the shifter that opperates the awd light which has to be lit up for the system to work.Try changing the oil and cleaning out the shifter.If you are too lazy to do that(like I have been in the past few weeks)put a bungee cord around the shifter to the rack to hold it in better until u get around to fixing it.

 

Pechmial / NCScrambler

Sorry gentlemen, Didn't mean to flame or start a war... good explaination, I stand corrected...Now another one for you guru's., If we lose the rear chain and then go to AWD, can we still get home on the front chains????

 

To answer your ? on getting home with front wheels only is yes you can the sensor is on the tranny not the rear wheels.

 

Yes as ftwflh stated. Since there will be no torque applied to the rear end, the sensor will think the tires are slipping and will engage the hubs allowing you to get home. I have seen this happen to one of my friends in a GNCC race. At the start of the race on the first turn he was rear ended straight into the rear right tire, a couple turns later his axle snaaped and he rode back to the pits using only the front drive. It can be a good thing to have since you won't be stuck in the woods with no axle/chain/sprocket, etc. No problem for the misunderstanding of the awd system. If the dealer was to tell me that and I didn't know better, I would believe him also unless I was proved different, so no hard feelings here.

 

then how come when my freind does a wheely in 2x4 the front wheels stop spinning and in 4x4 the fronts stay spinning.
and he is on pavment.

 

As said in the Hilliard letter the front wheels are still trying to catch up to speed to the rear(when in the air the ground can't turn your front wheels)

 

O.K. MUDCHUCKER, here's a little test for you to try, since you don't believe what you read.
Find some soft dirt or better yet, sand near a tree or another unmovable object. Put the AWD switch in ON and slowly apply the throttle while watching the front tires. You will notice that they're not grabbing if they rears aren't spinning. Now on the other hand if the tree is not there and you nail the throttle, ALL 4 wheels will spin and leave ruts. If you still don't believe it, when trying the "tree test" put the front end up on a block or something, so the wheels are completely off the ground, and then you can see that they are not turning.

 

that may be true on the newer models but on a 97 that is not true.